PREMIERE: Kat Greta – I Know What This Is (Dir. Francis Biay)
We’ve all built a castle out of someone’s mixed signals, only to end up standing in the rubble of what never came to be – and for Naarm/Melbourne-based indie-pop artist Kat Greta, that crushing realization is the driving beat of her latest track, ‘I Know What This Is’. Following her chart-topping success this year with ‘Audacity’ and the release of her debut EP ‘Rhythm and Reverie’ in 2025, Greta returns to the scene in a strikingly candid manner with this raw new single and music video. Co-written and produced by Seetali Mack and mixed by industry veteran Matt Voigt (Powderfinger, Midnight Oil, KISS), ‘I Know What This Is’ channels the wistful pain of undefined relationships into a vibrant and vulnerable indie-pop anthem. By cultivating an upbeat sound with driving beats and catchy pop sensibilities, and balancing this with earnest and heartfelt lyrics, Greta creates a poignant juxtaposition that begets an honest yet energetic take on an increasingly common modern romantic experience. Speaking to the thematic pulse behind ‘I Know What This Is’, Greta explains:
“[The song] is about an ‘almost’, and the moment you realise that sometimes silence is the answer. It explores uncertainty, anticipation and the feeling of knowing what something is without ever having it fully defined… We wanted to get that aching feeling of unrequited infatuation into the lyrics. Limerence, silent rejection, the person who’s always just slightly out of reach. I still wanted it to feel upbeat though… I tend to do that a lot at the moment – put sad words underneath an upbeat song.”
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- Press Photo by Ben Vella
Directed by Francis Biay, the visually evocative music video accompanying ‘I Know What This Is’ mirrors this emotional tug-of-war, following Greta through rainy, light-drenched city streets as she embarks on the intoxicating pursuit of a partner who always remains just out of reach. The clip opens with a palpable sense of anticipation as a roaming camera tracks Greta through the winding streets of the Melbourne CBD. Chasing a figure who remains a distant silhouette, the visual setup generates an exciting forward momentum, capturing the thrilling uncertainty of what – or who – she’s pursuing. The subtle jostling of the handheld camera immerses us directly in the pursuit alongside Greta, imitating the heightened anticipation inherent in pursuing an emotionally distant or unavailable suitor. Greta highlights that the imagery in this chase sequence draws direct inspiration from the song’s lyrics:
“For the video I kept coming back to the same pictures that were in the lyrics: film grain, wet city streets at night, that kind of darkness that sits on rejection. The person is never quite there – they’re always just out of reach.”
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- Behind The Scenes
This chase is peppered with swift cutaways to the elusive love interest. Restrained camera work offers only brief close-ups – fleeting glimpses of what is otherwise a distant silhouette, underscoring the impression that this person is forever beyond reach. Within this there is an underlying thread of sadness beneath the video’s initial rush of anticipation. Shifting to a 4:3 aspect ratio during these cutaways evokes a sense of nostalgia, capturing the bittersweet ache of unrequited love while echoing the track’s warm and vulnerable sonic landscape.
As the song builds sonically – incorporating fuzz-drenched electric guitars and soaring vocals – the repetition of urban chase sequences and the lyric ‘I know what this is’ signals a shift into self-awareness, highlighting the exact moment the excitement of chasing an ‘almost’ relationship gives way to the realisation that it’s all over. It culminates in a surprisingly comedic finish – Greta misses the tram her suitor just boarded by mere seconds, a nod to her tongue-in-cheek lyricism that transforms the sting of rejection into a moment of self-assurance and acceptance. The deadpan humor baked into such a relatable moment struck Biay the instant he first heard the track:
“The visuals that [initially] came to mind were highlights of everyday situations that people live whilst missing opportunities of meeting their special someone… mixed with a lighthearted comedic finish. I feel like it’s well showcased in the music video.”
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- Behind The Scenes
What is perhaps most striking about this video is its evocative – and borderline surreal – visuals that successfully engender a nostalgic atmosphere. By blending tactile film grain, a warm and saturated colour grade, and dreamy halation around street lights, Biay purposefully crafts a bittersweet and memory-like visual space that echoes the song’s focus on unrequited love and letting go. To achieve this look, Biay shot with a Canon R5 accompanied with a Canon 16mm RF F2.8 and Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 lens. Stylistically, this warm-toned aesthetic amidst a rain-slick, light-drenched city nightscape harkens back to 2010s romance films like ‘Midnight In Paris’ (2011), ‘Her’ (2013) and ‘Begin Again’ (2013); however, Biay says that it’s the city of Melbourne itself that serves as the main source of inspiration behind the video’s aesthetic, rather than any specific media:
“I found inspiration from the city environment of Melbourne itself on a rainy night. Many creatives gather [inspiration] from movies, photos or videos; I’ve managed to find it from the environment we filmed at. To add the cherry on top, setting the mood with the picture perfect colour grading during the editing process is necessary to meet the song’s nostalgic feeling.”
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- Behind The Scenes
This setting amidst Melbourne’s CBD sits right at the core of the video’s identity. By showcasing distinct emblems of the city like the Melbourne Star, the trademark green trams, and even the rain-coated footpaths, the video honours a city renowned for empowering artistic endeavours. Biay’s experience shooting directly on the streets reflects this rare creative freedom, which few other cities readily offer:
“Melbourne is a city that embraces creative endeavours. People around are respectful when creatives are filming in public. You just gotta watch out for your 2 hour parking limit!”
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- Behind The Scenes
Beyond the urban backdrop, Greta herself wields some powerful visual motifs in this video. Clutched in her hand, the red flower matches hand-stitched red hearts on her denim shirt – an overload of traditional romantic imagery that captures the relatable thrill of being swept up in the intoxicating chase for love. This is paired with the white parasol she twirls throughout the duration of the clip, acting as a physical shield against the Melbourne drizzle but also as a symbol of protection for her vulnerable heart. Meanwhile, her love interest’s black umbrella evokes classic Western tropes of ‘the black hat versus the white hat’, symbolising the emotional dynamic between good intentions and heartbreak. But the parasol imagery has more personal significance too, being uniquely made by Greta herself:
“The parasol is a bit of a recurring thing for me with this song. It’s become the visual motif for it, and I’ve even made a little hand-sewn patch of the parasol. I like having those little details that connect the music, visuals and things I’m making around each song. There are definitely some little threads that carry through into the wider world of my music, but I’ll leave it there for now!”
Kat Greta’s ‘I Know What This Is’ thrives by turning a rain-slicked Melbourne CBD into a canvas for universal heartbreak. By fusing Greta’s candid lyrics and bright indie-pop production and with warm, nostalgic film aesthetics, director Francis Biay grounds the high-stakes emotion of unrequited love in an environment everyone can recognize. Supported by intentional visual motifs – from protective parasols to hand-stitched symbols of hope – the music video does not merely showcase Melbourne’s immense creative energy; it captures that raw moment when the thrill of chasing an ‘almost’ romance transforms into the empowering clarity of moving on.
